Category: Sports

The Normalisation Committee of the Ghana Football Association has
proposed a reduction of the number of delegates for Congress from 124 to
120.

This figure signifies an amendment from the earlier proposal of 98
which was met by a lot of objections by the clubs before today’s
meeting.

So the new proposal is 120. This is, however, awaiting approval or disapproval.

The proposal which is article 26 of the GFA revised Statutes, allocated
2 slots for each Premier League club, making it a total of 32 votes for
the top division clubs, 8 for elite Women’s League Competition, “5 of
which should be women” and 48 delegates restored for Division One League
Clubs.

The dream of 17-year-old Abdul Hamid Ibrahim to become a mining engineer
has come alive after Black Stars and Newcastle midfielder, Christian
Atsu paid his university admission fees.

Hamid, from the mining town of Obuasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana
had 7A’s in his West African Senior Secondary Certificate
Examination,WASSCE, but because his mother, Hajaratu Osman invested her
savings with one of Ghana’s ailing banks, there was no way the young man
could have achieved his dreams, as all efforts by the mother to
retrieve her money had proven futile.

After hearing of the CCF Educational Support Scholarship which has
Christian Atsu as a sponsor, Abdul Hamid and his mother rushed to Accra
to access the scholarship.

The young man was full of joy as he received the scholarship and money
to return to Obuasi to prepare for school. “I am highly grateful to
Christian Atsu for his support. Without him, I was going to stay at
home”, the teary young man told crimecheckghana

His mother was full of joy, “may God bless Christian Atsu and give him
more football playing years. He has brought hope to my son”

The CCF Educational Support Scholarship targets brilliant but needy
students in Ghana who cannot make it to the university because of
financial difficulties.

Ghana’s male hockey team returns to action today after a day’s rest to
face a tough encounter against hosts South Africa as they chase a
qualification ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Today’s clash at the hockey stadium of the Stellenbosch University in
South Africa pits two sides with a perfect run in the competition, but
for Ghana, it is a chance to claim maximum points and also end their
opponent’s dominance over them at major international competitions.

Must-win affair

After victories over Kenya and Namibia, the Ghanaian side are geared up
for their toughest test yet against a free-scoring South African side
who were on rampage with a 9-0 drubbing of Zimbabwe on Tuesday, August
13 having earlier beaten Namibia 3-1 a day before in their opening
fixture of the African 2020 Olympic Games qualifying competition.

The last time the two sides clashed at the 2017 Africa Nations Hockey
Cup in the Egyptian city of Ismailia, South Africa ran away with the
maximum points with a 3-2 victory and went ahead to win the continental
competition.

Incidentally, all the players who scored in that match -South Africa’s
Taine Paton and Ntuli Nqobile, Ghana’s Michael Baiden and Ernest Opoku –
are expected to feature in today’s must-win clash.

With just one slot up for grabs, today’s game is a win-or-bust affair
for either side, especially as group leaders Egypt are also in a good
position to qualify for next year’s summer Olympics.

Ghana coach confident

Ghana’s Head Coach, Ebenezer Frimpong, told Graphic Sports Online via
telephone from their Stellenbosch base that his players were confident
they would turn the tables against their highly-rated opponents no
matter the resistance they may pose.

Coach Frimpong’s side have been dealt a big blow going into today’s
clash after losing two key players through injuries, while two others
are also in a race to recover from knocks they sustained in the
competition.

“We lost one of our best players, Emmanuel Ankomah, through an ankle
injury during one of our training sessions in South Africa and another
quality player, Christopher Dobge also sustained a head injury and ruled
out of the tournament.

“Christopher was replaced by Sylvester Apronti, while Francis Tettey
replaced Emmanuel Ankomah, but in our opening match against Kenya,
Francis was carried off the pitch after he was hit by a stick, while
Michael Baiden was also carried off for thigh injury,” bemoaned the
Ghana coach.

“The team is well settled now and getting used to the bouncy turf, and
against South Africa, we will not only control our balls, but also carry
the game to them and manage each quarter as it comes.”

In the other matches, Kenya and Zimbabwe will be eyeing their first win
of the competition when they clash, with table-topping Egypt tipped to
put fourth-placed Namibia to the sword.

Ghana Premier League side Karela United midfielder Emmanuel Keyekeh and
striker Diawise Taylor have touched down in Hungary to begin trials with
Hungarian first Division side Nemzet Bajnoksag Footballmadeinghana can
exclusively confirm.

The duo left the shores of Ghana to Hungary on Tuesday and touched down on Wednesday.

Keyeke and Taylor were explosive figures in the Karela United set up in the NC Special Competition.

They finished second in the competition after they suffered defeat in the hands of Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

The players were left out from Karela United preseason squad preparing for the upcoming Ghana Premier League.

Ghanaian foward Kelvin Ofori continued his fine form for Bundesliga side
Fortuna Dusselddorf as they walloped TSV Krefeld-Bockum 7-0 in their
final pre season game ahead of the start of the German Bundesliga.

The former Right to Dream Academy Player scored twice in the game as the Bundesliga side cruised to victory.

Ofori netted his first in the 6th minute before adding his second in the 68th minute.

He has now scored three goals for the club since joining the side in the summer transfer window.

Ghanaian defender Kassim Nuhu Adams who joined the club last week also
made his debut in that game, with Bernard Tekpetey also featuring in the
game.

Injured Nana Ampomah was missing in action as he continue to work his way back to full fitness.

Fortuna Dusseldorf will open their Bundesliga season on Sarturday away at Werder Bremen.

Andre Ayew says his full focus is on performing well for Swansea City after his match-winning brace against Northampton.

The Ghanaian made his first Swans appearance in 15 months when he was
summoned from the bench in the Carabao Cup clash with the Cobblers.

The 29-year-old did not take long to make an impact as his two headers –
his first Swansea goals in over three years – helped Steve Cooper’s men
turn around the first-round tie and set-up a home assignment against
Cambridge United in the next round.

Ayew recently returned to training after being on African Cup of Nations
duty during the summer, and head coach Cooper has acknowledged the
forward could yet leave the club with a number of transfer markets still
open.

But, as long as he remains a Swansea player, Ayew has vowed to do as
much as he can to help Cooper and co build on their unbeaten start to
the season

“I’m a Swansea player and I am working hard for the games that are
coming up. The gaffer has been clear and honest with me and I want to
thank him for that,” he said.

“He’s given me a lot of confidence and trust in the way that he speaks
to me. I really feel like I’m welcome and that’s a good feeling.

“A lot of things have been said but, for me, what’s important is to work
hard, try to get to full fitness and, if I’m here, go for it.”

Ayew also thanked the Swans fans for the reception he received on
Tuesday night, with his name ringing round the Liberty after his goals.

“The fans gave me an unbelievable welcome. I’m so happy and touched and
that sort of thing makes you want to work hard,” he said.

“They have always been great with me and supporting me. That’s why, so
long as I’m in a Swansea shirt, I try to give everything I have for the
club. I just want to do my best on the field for everyone.”

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has revealed that he is in a good condition after being rushed to hospital on Wednesday night in Italy.

The former Asante Kotoko midfielder was diagnosed with a pulmonary microembolism.

Serie A side Hellas Verona announced that the player was taken to the
hospital where he was diagnosed with a pulmonary microembolism – a blood
clot in the lungs.

Hellas Verona released a statement saying the player has been
hospitalized following the incident and will remain under observation
for some days.

“The player’s conditions are good and he will remain under observation for a few days.”

“This is a small blood clot in the lung, which can be extremely serious, even fatal, if not treated.”

However, the former Asante Kotoko star on Thursday revealed that he is
the best of condition despite being rushed to the hospital.
He took to his whatsapp status on Thursday morning to assure his friends that he was in good condition.
He wrote, “Good morning and thank you all for your well wishes. I am in good condition.”

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu joined Hellas Verona from Udinese on loan with an option to buy.

Despite many pleas amidst anger that the Black Stars coach should be
sacked, Coach Kwesi Appiah is set to be given a new contract which will
see him stay with the team until after the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in
Cameroon, Ghanacrusader sources have confirmed.

According to our trusted sources, a recent meeting between President Akufo-Addo and coach James Kwesi Appiah proved productive.

The President of Ghana will direct the Ghana Football Association’s
Normalisation Committee to maintain Kwesi Appiah, our sources said.

Our Jubilee House sources revealed that the discussion the Coach had
with the President on July 30, 2019 was centred on the coach’s long-term
future with the national team following the country’s calamitous
campaign in Egypt. And the coach will be given a new contract before his
contract runs out in December 2019.

In the midst of intense bashing on his technical abilities, Kwesi Appiah
has received some backing from some football handlers and pundits who
have called for him to be maintained.

Deputy Minister for Transport, Nii Kwartei Titus Glove believes coach
Kwesi Appiah after failing to win the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations should
be given another chance for him to put measures in place to end Ghana’s
trophy drought spanning over three decades.

Ghana defender, John Boye has for the first time debunked the widespread
notion that he and some defenders in the senior national team impressed
on Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah to drop goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey during the
2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Kwarsey who was Ghana’s first-choice goalkeeper during the tournament
lost his position after the Black Stars lost their first Group game
against the USA.

It emerged after that painful defeat that Kwarsey had difficulty
communicating with his defenders due to his inability to speak any
Ghanaian language.

Kwarasey is a Norwegian-born Ghanaian who didn’t grow up here and thus struggles to speak any local dialect.

He expressed shock after he lost his position and has hardly played for
Ghana after the sordid incident, turning down overtures from Coach Avram
Grant and Kwasi Appiah in the last couple of years.

But speaking on UTV’s Atuu programme hosted by AbeikuAggrey Santana,
John Boye said the allegation that Kwaraseywas dropped because of
language barrier is inaccurate.

“That cannot be possible. How can we tell the coach to drop a player
from the squad because of the language barrier? People say all sorts of
things, half of which aren’t true. We will never do that to him because
he is one of us.”

Boye was part of the Ghana team that crashed out of the 2019 AFCON in the Round of 16 stage.

Ghanaian attacker, Kwabena Owusu has stated categorically that none of
his teammates received $80,000 as appearance fee at the 2019 Africa Cup
of Nations (AFCON) tournament but rather $20,000.

One of the stories that came up during the AFCON in Egypt was that the
Stars were paid an amount of $80,000 as appearance fee but the player
who was speaking on GHOne TV monitored by MyNewsGh.com said that the
players received $20,000 instead of the speculated amount of $80,000.

“I was shocked when I heard the rumour that we received $80,000 as an
appearance fee. We did not get $80,000 as appearance fee, our appearance
fee was $20,000” he said.

According to him, though they were eliminated from the AFCON they were
eager to bring AFCON trophy to Ghana saying they didn’t play with the
heart of Ghanaians.

He said, “Black Stars Players have received a lot of insults from
Ghanaians after the AFCON tournament because Ghanaians lack knowledge
about football.”